Ghosts of the past

[kyunnii]

Muses: Shim Changmin (quiescents) and Cho Kyuhyun (kyunnii)
Status: Closed; completed
Date / Time: 06/23, morning
Rating: G
Type: Thread
Summary: In 2004, Kyuhyun moved away with barely a goodbye to a young Changmin. Ten years later, immortal and medium are once again in the right place at the right time.

Comments

[quiescents]

Since transferring to the university, Changmin had explored... maybe ten percent of it. The photographer in him, the thirst for new sights and adventures, had been subdued by Study Max, the guy with his head in a book all day, coming straight home to study, go to bed, and do it all over the next day. However it'd been a couple of months since moving here, and he'd gradually started to do more than just schoolwork. He'd been meeting people, actually making the efforts to spend some time with them. Naturally the sort of person who preferred to be on his own, lately he hadn't wanted to be. Maybe it had to do with the fact that the spirit world had been more "in his face" than ever since moving here; he had no idea why or how, but he was seeing them everywhere. Possessions happened nearly every week. If he didn't have other people to focus on, he would have started going crazy.

Regardless, he found himself at a part of campus he had yet to encounter. The lecture he had to attend was at a building he wasn't familiar with, though it was somewhere around here, according to the campus map.... However, walking through this place had him wondering if he was in the right one at all. The doors were all locked; there didn't seem to be anyone else around. There was a slightly eerie feeling, his footsteps the only sound as he walked down the hall. Finally, he noticed light up ahead -- an open door. It probably wasn't the right place but perhaps there was someone inside he could ask directions from. Changmin hesitated at the open door, rapping his knuckles against it first, before going ahead and moving in. Only a sole occupant - a man seated at a desk; he must be the professor. "Excuse me, sir. I seem to have... lost my way."

[kyunnii]

Setting up the slides for today's lecture, Kyuhyun looked up at the knock against the door. His desk was facing away from the door, so he stood up and turned around only to see a tall, lanky student standing uncertainly in the doorway. It wasn't one of his; he couldn't recall ever running into the guy before. Kyuhyun's brief confusion, showing in a single raised eyebrow, disappeared at the explanation that the other man was lost.

It wouldn't be the first time Kyuhyun had directed a lost student back out of what most of the student body nicknamed 'the dungeon', the classrooms in the farthest wing of the basement from civilization. The university signage sucked, and this building's name was similar enough to another more popular building on the other side of campus that some of their students would wander in here accidentally.

"Where are you trying to go?" he asked, arms folded across his chest and expression vaguely amused as he stepped around his chair and towards the door.

[quiescents]

It wasn't until the other man had moved up from his chair and was facing his way that Changmin was able to really see him -- and when he had, his eyes were suddenly widening in stark surprise, then giving a series of blinks as he took the young man's appearance in. For the first few seconds, he thought that perhaps he was just seeing things, some manifestation; it had been years.. years, but Kyuhyun had traveled in and out of his thoughts since then. His neighbour who had disappeared without a trace, almost as if he'd ceased to exist. Changmin had not forgotten him.

Perhaps this professor was simply similar in features to the person he'd known back then; that was the logical explanation, at least. But he was very, very similar. It... was uncanny, really. Right? Time could alter memories, but... even so... He couldn't just ignore it. Changmin's eyes were still very wide; the question was pushed to the side for now, the other male asking one of his own before he could help himself, really.

"Do I.. know you?"

[kyunnii]

The reaction he got from the kid made Kyuhyun raise an eyebrow again. Something had startled the guy, and Kyuhyun was tempted to make sure he hadn't spilled coffee on himself or something that would warrant such a look. But before he could ask just what the guy's problem was, a question made him pause.

Do I know you? Frowning, Kyuhyun looked back at the kid. He was certain he'd never seen this guy before...but then again he'd met a lot of people in his time alive, and was hard-pressed to remember the faces of even a tenth of them. What he was wondering was, why did the student think he knew Kyuhyun?

Maybe a friend of one of his students...that was one of the most likely reasons. People did wander in and out of his classes sometimes while he wasn't lecturing. Or maybe through Capcom, it was possible. Kyuhyun had been to a few gaming conventions. "...I teach programming here," he said, arms still folded across his chest. "And work in Capcom, if you've ever been there. Cho Kyuhyun. Why, who are you?"

[quiescents]

Even his voice was familiar, stirring up memories, Changmin giving another slow blink -- it was as if he'd been zapped back in time, over a decade ago. The mysterious neighbour he'd known next to nothing about, but who had somehow become the person he'd been able to rely on as his ability manifested itself and took control of his life. Had he ever directly thanked the older man for that? For just being someone there beside him, making the loneliness a lot less.. lonely? Admittedly it had been hard when he had disappeared, but for Changmin who had always suppressed his emotions, he had never really allowed himself to grieve over that, just accepting it and moving on. In a way, it hadn't even been too surprising. Kyuhyun had always seemed far away somehow. Even when he was beside him, there was some kind of layer that he just couldn't get through. And he'd been okay with that. He hadn't really needed more. Just someone who didn't judge him or make him feel like some sort of freak. Someone who somehow knew many of the answers to the bizarre world of the unknown Changmin had suddenly been thrust into.

It couldn't be him. It couldn't be. It didn't seem right. He had disappeared.

As his words filtered through Changmin's mind, his expression froze at the name which glided from his lips. Cho Kyuhyun. He was very quiet for a few long moments, just staring at the man. It could not be. He had not aged at all. He still had the face of a man in his twenties; he should be well into his thirties by now. Whoever this man was, he wasn't Kyuhyun, and somehow Changmin found anger rising at this doppelganger -- his usual reaction to the unknown, waves of heat stirring in his blood. His eyes narrowed and his lips tightened, voice quiet but venomous.

"I don't know who you are, but you're lying. I knew Cho Kyuhyun years ago, and there's no way you could be that man. Why do you have his face?" It made no sense, even his question made no sense -- Why did you have his face? As if he had stolen it or something. Things like that couldn't happen. But Changmin was glaring, fingers tightened around his backpack straps.

[kyunnii]

Whatever Kyuhyun had expected the kid's response to be, anger was not it. Centuries of unexpected results kept his expression from changing beyond a slight tightening of his eyes, but inwardly he was taken aback. Who was this guy? Someone he'd known years ago? Someone who, if he wasn't aware of the supernatural, was at least prone to believing outlandish things if his accusation of having someone else's face was to be taken literally.

Kyuhyun could have done multiple things then to prove his own identity. He had identification on him, even if it was all false (false birthdate, false hometown, false name even because hell if he knew what his birth name was after this long). There was also the fact that every student in his class knew him by his full name, it would only take one of them to confirm who he was. But convincing this man he was who he said he was wasn't at the top of Kyuhyun's mind just then.

"...What's your name, kid?" he asked instead of answering, frowning. Repeating his previous question, because if he could figure out just who this guy was then he'd know exactly what he was dealing with.

[quiescents]

Changmin was watching the man carefully to try and gauge a reaction, but there wasn't much of one at all, only causing him to glare a little more sharply. He was still in such shock, mixed with his strange surge of anger, that his answer came out more heated than he'd meant for it to. "Shim Changmin," he replied, afterwards tilting his head up almost haughtily, gazing down at the other man (well, they were pretty much at the same height so it wasn't so much down). Whoever this guy was, he surely wouldn't recognise him. There was no way he could have -- because there was no way this was Kyuhyun. Not the same one, anyway, and unless he had a younger brother by the same first name... Changmin could see no logical explanation for this. It couldn't be some kind of freak coincidence. Someone who looked, sounded just like him and with the same name? He couldn't see any explanation.

[kyunnii]

Shim Changmin. The young man's appearance hadn't meant anything to Kyuhyun, but that name did. There was finally a proper reaction out of the immortal, eyes widening slightly.

The last time he'd seen Changmin had been ten years ago. He'd already signed away his apartment and moved most of his belongings out before turning to the kid and telling him he was leaving. He could still see the young medium's face in his mind's eye, already trying to be so much more grown-up than he was. It had been Kyuhyun's regret for a long while that he hadn't been able to stay longer, help Changmin more. But he'd already pushed his time there as it was...much longer and it would have been obvious he didn't look a day older than he had when he'd moved in eight years prior, claiming to be twenty-three.

He'd wondered often what had become of the medium, if he was still trying to push the supernatural away or if he'd finally embraced his gift. Finally, passing time had driven Changmin to the back of his mind; there was nothing he could do about it, he'd told himself. The world kept moving.

Gaze returning to the angry youth across from him, now Kyuhyun could see the resemblance. Changmin had already been tall for a preteen when they met, but now his height matched Kyuhyun's. The sharp gaze was the same, those eyes that had always analyzed his surroundings in a way unlike most children.

Kyuhyun's lips quivered before they pulled upwards in a small, lopsided smile. "...Changmin. So you're still alive and kicking. I'd wondered."

[quiescents]

Changmin didn't miss the widening of the other man's eyes, still looking at him with his almost subtly challenging expression. Like mentioned, he wasn't even sure why he was being so confrontational -- maybe it was something of a defense mechanism, a lacquer over the shock of seeing this person who claimed the alias of his old neighbour, who could pass for him exactly.

The slight smile caught him off-guard, but it was the words that had Changmin's own hard expression faltering a little, tightened jaw loosening, lips parting slightly. It... could not be. And yet... somehow, it was. There was no doubt that this face, voice, was the same as the one back then. And it was obvious the man before him had caught recognition now, remembering him from his name.

One foot moved backward, almost as if to take a step, but for the moment Changmin remained where he was. "I don't understand. How could you possibly be that person? You should be.. different by now."

[kyunnii]

If this had been an ordinary human who had recognized him from years ago, Kyuhyun wouldn't have let their conversation go this far. He would have brushed off the recognition as pure chance, pushing the other person away until they believed that he couldn't possibly be the same person. But Changmin was a medium, and not a kid anymore. Maybe it was time for the truth. He hadn't told Changmin anything about himself ten years ago, not believing the kid could have handled the knowledge.

"I should be," Kyuhyun snorted, sitting on the edge of his desk. He motioned with one hand towards the chairs across from him, chairs that were still completely empty. He was curious how Changmin had faired all these years, and they had enough time before his class was to start. "Do you remember what I told you when you asked why I didn't seem surprised about your abilities?" He asked, using what he remembered of back then to prove to Changmin he was exactly who he said he was.

[quiescents]

Changmin's eyes moved from his intense gaze on the other to where he motioned, then slowly back. For now he chose not to accept the offer, staying where he was, stubbornly folding his arms. He was still on the defense, but after the man's question, something in his angry eyes flickered again. Another clarification that this was that man from before, a question asked to him that only Kyuhyun would have known to ask. He stared some more, and then slowly nodded. He hadn't forgotten. "You said.. that you had seen stranger things than what happened to me. So what?"

[kyunnii]

Kyuhyun wrinkled his nose slightly at the continued anger in Changmin's eyes. He supposed he deserved it for not explaining himself a long time ago. "Not looking a day older than I had when we met qualifies as 'strange', don't you think?" He said dryly, calm eyes meeting Changmin's angry ones as he leaned back against his hands lightly.

"I am sorry I left so suddenly. People in the area were starting to catch on to how I wasn't aging. I was pushing it staying in one spot as long as I had, but I didn't want to leave you alone."

[quiescents]

The words sank into Changmin's mind, slowly. Kyuhyun... didn't age? This was all such a strange situation (he should be used to moments like these, he'd had a lifetime of them since moving here, for some reason, this city must be cursed -- or maybe it was just him). He was slowly looking down, brows furrowing in thought, his crossed arms eventually unfolding so that the long appendages simply hung down by his sides. When he looked back up, his expression was less angry, but something uneasy to pinpoint, exactly. He wasn't sure how he was feeling, either.

"You're not... human?" If he didn't age, he couldn't be a human, right? Changmin looked at the other boy with the same intensity, but like mentioned it wasn't necessarily with anger just now.

[kyunnii]

A simple question, with a simple answer. "No," Kyuhyun replied bluntly. "I'm not human. I'm an immortal." He exhaled slowly, glancing towards the door to make sure they were still alone. "So now that you know, are you going to sit down so we can talk properly? Or are you going to run away screaming?"

[quiescents]

Changmin blinked thickly at the straightforward answer. It was the second time he had asked someone if they were a human. The strange occurrences that had been happening lately... it was as if he were caught in some bizarre fog. Encounters that logical reasoning couldn't explain, nights spent with lingering thoughts he'd never had before. He'd always stubbornly ignored the things he couldn't explain -- the unknown, the little known, his own ghosts. Lately, however, it was impossible to ignore anything. It was in his face, he was breathing it in like oxygen.

He wouldn't bother blatantly denying this fact, as he might have a year ago. Instead, Changmin's answer to the question revealed itself; he was slowly moving over to the chairs the other male had gestured to moments ago, sliding down into one of them, his backpack slipping to rest on the ground by his feet. He was very close to Kyuhyun now, only the face of the desk between them, and he was close enough now that he could see this was the person he'd known. His eyes were the same.

An immortal. The word wasn't foreign to him of course; he'd seen movies, heard folklore. But the revelation left questions on his tongue all the same. For a moment, he was the young kid looking to his mysterious neighbour for answers. "You won't ever die?"

[kyunnii]

Kyuhyun wouldn't admit it if asked, but he was relieved when Changmin finally sat down. He hadn't been sure how the medium would take knowing he wasn't human, given how resistant he had been as a kid to learning more about the supernatural. Maybe that had changed...maybe Changmin had decided to embrace his abilities in the time since Kyuhyun had last seen him. Either way, he wasn't leaving just yet.

"Not by most means," Kyuhyun asked, watching him. "Old age, disease, and poison won't kill me. But I can still die if I'm hurt badly enough." His lips curled a little. "When I said there were stranger things out there than a few grumpy spirits, I was including myself. Speaking of spirits...how have you been coping since I left?"